Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Buys 6,291 Shares of U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its position in U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) by 30.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 26,776 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,291 shares during the quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI’s holdings in U.S. Bancorp were worth $1,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of USB. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in U.S. Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $1,353,000. BOKF NA boosted its stake in U.S. Bancorp by 29.7% during the 1st quarter. BOKF NA now owns 229,955 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,107,000 after purchasing an additional 52,684 shares during the period. Ceeto Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in U.S. Bancorp by 50.0% in the 1st quarter. Ceeto Capital Group LLC now owns 15,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $678,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC increased its position in U.S. Bancorp by 64.9% in the 1st quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Finally, Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of U.S. Bancorp by 9.1% during the first quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,489 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. 77.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on USB. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of U.S. Bancorp from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $54.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $54.00 price objective on shares of U.S. Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on U.S. Bancorp from $49.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.22.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jodi L. Richard sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.03, for a total value of $1,225,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 129,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,363,603.70. This trade represents a 16.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

U.S. Bancorp Stock Up 2.1 %

NYSE USB opened at $52.48 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $44.03. U.S. Bancorp has a one year low of $36.49 and a one year high of $52.69. The firm has a market cap of $81.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

U.S. Bancorp (NYSE:USB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.99 by $0.04. U.S. Bancorp had a return on equity of 12.91% and a net margin of 12.92%. The company had revenue of $6.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.05 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that U.S. Bancorp will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

U.S. Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This is a boost from U.S. Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. U.S. Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.16%.

U.S. Bancorp announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 12th that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

About U.S. Bancorp

U.S. Bancorp, a financial services holding company, provides various financial services to individuals, businesses, institutional organizations, governmental entities, and other financial institutions in the United States. It operates through Wealth, Corporate, Commercial and Institutional Banking; Consumer and Business Banking; Payment Services; and Treasury and Corporate Support segments.